Red Eyes
by Alycoris
Summary: A 'Sapere Aude' story. Red eyes were extremely rare to see. Akihiko Centric.


Akihiko vaguely remembers that around 11 or so, the auburn-haired girl had asked Shinjiro to watch a movie with her.

It was just the right kind of weather for a jog; he was just about to leave on a round to eat his usual beef bowl- he could never get tired of the stuff, no matter how much Shinjiro would scold him about his "shitty" diet. He was tying his shoes at the front step, when Hamuko had promptly walked up to Shinjiro and asked, "Do you want to see a movie with me, Senpai?"

The white-haired teen had seen his best friend approached by random girls or underclassmen several times before he decided to quit Gekkoukan altogether (like him, sans quitting Gekkoukan), but every single time he rejected them without a second thought.

So Akihiko had to double take when he heard his pea coat sporting best friend mumble a very uncharacteristic, almost borderline submissive, "Fine."

Seriously. Shinjiro Aragaki, _submissive_?

Was he hearing things, or was his leader just that good at convincing people?

Either way, they didn't leave much time to let him ponder. The two left almost immediately.

Akihiko was more than tempted to follow them. Oh, yes he was. He was curious about his best friend's attachment to SEES's leader, but he knew if he followed and was caught, he'd most likely suffer from Shinjiro's wrath and one of Mitsuru's infamous executions. Oh, that definitely wouldn't be pretty.

He absentmindedly scratched the bandage just above his left eyebrow, wondering what he could do to distract himself.

"Hey Koromaru," He called to the dog lazily lying in front of the TV. Koromaru perked his ears, and tilted his head at the senior. "Want to go with me? I'm heading towards the Shrine."

The dog barked happily and ran to his side almost immediately.

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"Woof, woof!" He yapped, tail wagging furiously. "Woof!"

With a soft chuckle, Akihiko found himself scratching Koromaru's ear. "Let's get going."

So they left at a fair pace, with Koromaru speeding and frolicking without a care in the world and Akihiko jogging at an easy pace behind. The languid heat was still somewhat reminiscent of summer, but it was well settled into autumn thanks to the breeze.

He found himself inadvertently wondering what kind of movie the two were watching. It seemed like an inane question, but he couldn't help wonder about it. He had heard that there was going to be a one-day film festival… or something like that. But of what? The one in summer had varied from action films with ninjas to fluffy romance clichés that he overheard girls swooning over (which he couldn't quite understand).

He wondered whether Hamuko and Shinjiro would enjoy it.

"Woof!"

Koromaru's bark brough Akihiko back to reality. He hadn't noticed that he had nearly passed right over the Shrine.

"Sorry Koromaru." He apologized, walking back to the dog to scritch the dog's ears again. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

Koromaru whined, staring his bright red eyes into Akihiko's gray orbs.

It was peculiar. He had never seen a pair of eyes that red on a dog.

He was reminded of Hamuko's crimson color eyes, warm, deep, yet soft. Koromaru's were like that (kind of). He almost felt he could drown in the auburn girl's eyes- or at least, it seemed that way. There was no knowing of how deep the soul behind those eyes were, with all those Personae she had in her arsenal. Sometimes he wondered what it felt like; to have so much responsibility on tow as SEES's leader, and still get by in her daily life like nothing was wrong. Like nothing extraordinary happened at midnight.

It was funny. One moment, she could be laughing at one of Junpei's inane and stupid jokes, then mercilessly slicing a shadow in half with her naginata. She was strong… kind of like Shinjiro, except more open. More bubbly and cheerful.

Like Miki…

Koromaru whined again, breaking his train of thought. His glazed eyes snapped back to the dog, and he smiled weakly.

"Nah, it's nothing." He mused, guessing what the dog was saying. He wasn't like Aigis, after all. He couldn't understand, as Shinjiro put it, 'dog talk'.

The white dog tilt his head with a questioning look- or at least how one would look like on a dog, Akihiko imagined.

"Don't worry about it." He said dismissively, before putting on a smile. "Say, what do you say we go for some beef bowl, Koromaru? Just don't tell Mitsuru, she'll have my head for 'spoiling' you… we all know that you deserve a good meal every once in a while. Isn't that right?"

Koromaru cheerfully barked, tail wagging.

"All right then, boy. Let's run!"

* * *

><p>Koromaru had expectantly beat him. He was far more agile, but racing the dog had given him the workout he wanted. He definitely could feel the burn.<p>

When they returned to the dorm after a helping of beef bowl- Koromaru panting happily and Akihiko tired- they were now lounging on a sofa before he would begin his next activity. However, before he could get up and much to Akihiko's surprise, Shinjiro had shortly burst through the door and shut it quickly. Hamuko was no where to be found.

"Shinji?" He called from his spot, peering over to his beanie sporting friend. "Where's Hamuko?"

"She's at the theater," Shinjiro replied breathlessly as he kicked off his shoes at the door step and padded his way towards the stairs. Akihiko, as tired as he was jumped to his feet and approached. Koromaru followed suit, and began yapping excitedly while running circles around Shinjiro.

"Did you ditch her?" Akihiko asked incredulously.

"Of course not." He snapped irritably, avoiding his eye contact. "Something came up."

"Well, what kind of movie did you watch?"

"…None of your goddamn business." Either Shinjiro found the carpet very interesting, or he was deliberately ignoring him.

Akihiko paused, and tilted his head slightly. Shinjiro didn't normally avoid eye contact with him. Usually, he would say things straight to his face regardless of what was being said. Akihiko found himself peering slightly closer at his face…

Finally, he blinked.

"Why are your eyes red?" He blurted with a confused expression.

"Shut the fuck up Aki."


End file.
